diff --git a/src/Makefile.am b/src/Makefile.am
index aea6ac1aa..38a629b1b 100644
--- a/src/Makefile.am
+++ b/src/Makefile.am
@@ -293,6 +293,9 @@ libmutter_@LIBMUTTER_API_VERSION@_la_SOURCES =	\
 	core/frame.h				\
 	core/meta-gesture-tracker.c		\
 	core/meta-gesture-tracker-private.h	\
+	core/meta-workspace-manager.c		\
+	core/meta-workspace-manager-private.h	\
+	meta/meta-workspace-manager.h		\
 	core/keybindings.c			\
 	core/keybindings-private.h		\
 	core/main-private.h			\
@@ -558,6 +561,7 @@ libmutterinclude_headers =			\
 	meta/meta-window-actor.h		\
 	meta/meta-window-group.h		\
 	meta/meta-window-shape.h		\
+	meta/meta-workspace-manager.h		\
 	meta/meta-x11-display.h			\
 	meta/meta-x11-errors.h			\
 	meta/prefs.h				\
diff --git a/src/core/display-private.h b/src/core/display-private.h
index b0924eea8..769dbb134 100644
--- a/src/core/display-private.h
+++ b/src/core/display-private.h
@@ -253,6 +253,7 @@ struct _MetaDisplay
   guint workspace_layout_overridden : 1;
 
   MetaBell *bell;
+  MetaWorkspaceManager *workspace_manager;
 };
 
 struct _MetaDisplayClass
diff --git a/src/core/display.c b/src/core/display.c
index 05e616782..97d23f80d 100644
--- a/src/core/display.c
+++ b/src/core/display.c
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@
 #include "keybindings-private.h"
 #include <meta/prefs.h>
 #include "workspace-private.h"
+#include "meta-workspace-manager-private.h"
 #include "bell.h"
 #include <meta/compositor.h>
 #include <meta/compositor-mutter.h>
@@ -731,6 +732,7 @@ meta_display_open (void)
   display->autoraise_timeout_id = 0;
   display->autoraise_window = NULL;
   display->focus_window = NULL;
+  display->workspace_manager = NULL;
   display->x11_display = NULL;
 
   display->current_cursor = -1; /* invalid/unset */
@@ -789,6 +791,8 @@ meta_display_open (void)
   display->stack = meta_stack_new (display);
   display->stack_tracker = meta_stack_tracker_new (display);
 
+  display->workspace_manager = meta_workspace_manager_new (display);
+
   /* This is the default layout extracted from default
    * variable values in update_num_workspaces ()
    * This can be overriden using _NET_DESKTOP_LAYOUT in
@@ -1045,6 +1049,7 @@ meta_display_close (MetaDisplay *display,
 
   g_clear_object (&display->bell);
   g_clear_object (&display->startup_notification);
+  g_clear_object (&display->workspace_manager);
 
   g_object_unref (display);
   the_display = NULL;
@@ -4383,3 +4388,9 @@ meta_display_workspace_switched (MetaDisplay        *display,
   g_signal_emit (display, display_signals[WORKSPACE_SWITCHED], 0,
                  from, to, direction);
 }
+
+MetaWorkspaceManager *
+meta_display_get_workspace_manager (MetaDisplay *display)
+{
+  return display->workspace_manager;
+}
diff --git a/src/core/meta-workspace-manager-private.h b/src/core/meta-workspace-manager-private.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1dafa5039
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/core/meta-workspace-manager-private.h
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+/* -*- mode: C; c-file-style: "gnu"; indent-tabs-mode: nil; -*- */
+
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2001 Havoc Pennington
+ * Copyright (C) 2002, 2003, 2004 Red Hat, Inc.
+ * Copyright (C) 2003, 2004 Rob Adams
+ * Copyright (C) 2004-2006 Elijah Newren
+ *
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
+ * published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the
+ * License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
+ * WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+ * along with this program; if not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ */
+
+#ifndef META_WORKSPACE_MANAGER_PRIVATE_H
+#define META_WORKSPACE_MANAGER_PRIVATE_H
+
+#include <glib.h>
+
+#include "core/display-private.h"
+#include "meta/common.h"
+#include "meta/types.h"
+#include "meta/meta-workspace-manager.h"
+
+struct _MetaWorkspaceManager
+{
+  GObject parent;
+
+  MetaDisplay *display;
+  MetaWorkspace *active_workspace;
+
+  GList *workspaces;
+
+  int rows_of_workspaces;
+  int columns_of_workspaces;
+  MetaDisplayCorner starting_corner;
+  guint vertical_workspaces : 1;
+  guint workspace_layout_overridden : 1;
+};
+
+MetaWorkspaceManager *meta_workspace_manager_new (MetaDisplay *display);
+
+#endif /* META_WORKSPACE_MANAGER_PRIVATE_H */
diff --git a/src/core/meta-workspace-manager.c b/src/core/meta-workspace-manager.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0521337e1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/core/meta-workspace-manager.c
@@ -0,0 +1,165 @@
+/* -*- mode: C; c-file-style: "gnu"; indent-tabs-mode: nil; -*- */
+
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2001 Havoc Pennington
+ * Copyright (C) 2002, 2003, 2004 Red Hat, Inc.
+ * Copyright (C) 2003, 2004 Rob Adams
+ * Copyright (C) 2004-2006 Elijah Newren
+ *
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
+ * published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the
+ * License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
+ * WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+ * along with this program; if not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ */
+
+#include "config.h"
+
+#include "core/meta-workspace-manager-private.h"
+
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <string.h>
+#include <unistd.h>
+
+#include "meta/meta-enum-types.h"
+
+G_DEFINE_TYPE (MetaWorkspaceManager, meta_workspace_manager, G_TYPE_OBJECT)
+
+enum
+{
+  WORKSPACE_ADDED,
+  WORKSPACE_REMOVED,
+  WORKSPACE_SWITCHED,
+  ACTIVE_WORKSPACE_CHANGED,
+  SHOWING_DESKTOP_CHANGED,
+  LAST_SIGNAL
+};
+
+enum {
+  PROP_0,
+
+  PROP_N_WORKSPACES
+};
+
+static guint workspace_manager_signals [LAST_SIGNAL] = { 0 };
+
+static void
+meta_workspace_manager_get_property (GObject    *object,
+                                     guint       prop_id,
+                                     GValue     *value,
+                                     GParamSpec *pspec)
+{
+  MetaWorkspaceManager *workspace_manager = META_WORKSPACE_MANAGER (object);
+
+  switch (prop_id)
+    {
+    case PROP_N_WORKSPACES:
+      g_value_set_int (value, meta_workspace_manager_get_n_workspaces (workspace_manager));
+      break;
+    default:
+      G_OBJECT_WARN_INVALID_PROPERTY_ID (object, prop_id, pspec);
+      break;
+    }
+}
+
+static void
+meta_workspace_manager_set_property (GObject      *object,
+                                     guint         prop_id,
+                                     const GValue *value,
+                                     GParamSpec   *pspec)
+{
+  switch (prop_id)
+    {
+    default:
+      G_OBJECT_WARN_INVALID_PROPERTY_ID (object, prop_id, pspec);
+      break;
+    }
+}
+
+static void
+meta_workspace_manager_class_init (MetaWorkspaceManagerClass *klass)
+{
+  GObjectClass *object_class = G_OBJECT_CLASS (klass);
+
+  object_class->get_property = meta_workspace_manager_get_property;
+  object_class->set_property = meta_workspace_manager_set_property;
+
+  workspace_manager_signals[WORKSPACE_ADDED] =
+    g_signal_new ("workspace-added",
+                  G_TYPE_FROM_CLASS (klass),
+                  G_SIGNAL_RUN_LAST,
+                  0, NULL, NULL, NULL,
+                  G_TYPE_NONE,
+                  1,
+                  G_TYPE_INT);
+
+  workspace_manager_signals[WORKSPACE_REMOVED] =
+    g_signal_new ("workspace-removed",
+                  G_TYPE_FROM_CLASS (klass),
+                  G_SIGNAL_RUN_LAST,
+                  0, NULL, NULL, NULL,
+                  G_TYPE_NONE,
+                  1,
+                  G_TYPE_INT);
+
+  workspace_manager_signals[WORKSPACE_SWITCHED] =
+    g_signal_new ("workspace-switched",
+                  G_TYPE_FROM_CLASS (klass),
+                  G_SIGNAL_RUN_LAST,
+                  0, NULL, NULL, NULL,
+                  G_TYPE_NONE,
+                  3,
+                  G_TYPE_INT,
+                  G_TYPE_INT,
+                  META_TYPE_MOTION_DIRECTION);
+
+  workspace_manager_signals[ACTIVE_WORKSPACE_CHANGED] =
+    g_signal_new ("active-workspace-changed",
+                  G_TYPE_FROM_CLASS (klass),
+                  G_SIGNAL_RUN_LAST,
+                  0, NULL, NULL, NULL,
+                  G_TYPE_NONE, 0);
+
+  workspace_manager_signals[SHOWING_DESKTOP_CHANGED] =
+    g_signal_new ("showing-desktop-changed",
+                  G_TYPE_FROM_CLASS (klass),
+                  G_SIGNAL_RUN_LAST,
+                  0, NULL, NULL, NULL,
+                  G_TYPE_NONE, 0);
+}
+
+static void
+meta_workspace_manager_init (MetaWorkspaceManager *workspace_manager)
+{
+}
+
+MetaWorkspaceManager *
+meta_workspace_manager_new (MetaDisplay *display)
+{
+  MetaWorkspaceManager *workspace_manager;
+
+  workspace_manager = g_object_new (META_TYPE_WORKSPACE_MANAGER, NULL);
+
+  workspace_manager->display = display;
+  workspace_manager->active_workspace = NULL;
+  workspace_manager->workspaces = NULL;
+  workspace_manager->rows_of_workspaces = 1;
+  workspace_manager->columns_of_workspaces = -1;
+  workspace_manager->vertical_workspaces = FALSE;
+  workspace_manager->starting_corner = META_DISPLAY_TOPLEFT;
+
+  return workspace_manager;
+}
+
+int
+meta_workspace_manager_get_n_workspaces (MetaWorkspaceManager *workspace_manager)
+{
+  return g_list_length (workspace_manager->workspaces);
+}
diff --git a/src/meta/display.h b/src/meta/display.h
index f68845155..6d446a656 100644
--- a/src/meta/display.h
+++ b/src/meta/display.h
@@ -245,4 +245,6 @@ void meta_display_override_workspace_layout (MetaDisplay       *display,
                                              int               n_rows,
                                              int               n_columns);
 
+MetaWorkspaceManager *meta_display_get_workspace_manager (MetaDisplay *display);
+
 #endif
diff --git a/src/meta/meta-workspace-manager.h b/src/meta/meta-workspace-manager.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..29604f244
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/meta/meta-workspace-manager.h
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+/* -*- mode: C; c-file-style: "gnu"; indent-tabs-mode: nil; -*- */
+
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2001 Havoc Pennington
+ * Copyright (C) 2002, 2003, 2004 Red Hat, Inc.
+ * Copyright (C) 2003, 2004 Rob Adams
+ * Copyright (C) 2004-2006 Elijah Newren
+ *
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
+ * published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the
+ * License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
+ * WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+ * along with this program; if not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ */
+
+#ifndef META_WORKSPACE_MANAGER_H
+#define META_WORKSPACE_MANAGER_H
+
+#include <glib-object.h>
+
+#include <meta/common.h>
+#include <meta/prefs.h>
+#include <meta/types.h>
+
+#define META_TYPE_WORKSPACE_MANAGER (meta_workspace_manager_get_type ())
+G_DECLARE_FINAL_TYPE (MetaWorkspaceManager, meta_workspace_manager, META, WORKSPACE_MANAGER, GObject)
+
+int meta_workspace_manager_get_n_workspaces (MetaWorkspaceManager *workspace_manager);
+
+#endif /* META_WORKSPACE_MANAGER_H */
diff --git a/src/meta/types.h b/src/meta/types.h
index 2f286f90b..f9ff90b9b 100644
--- a/src/meta/types.h
+++ b/src/meta/types.h
@@ -42,4 +42,6 @@ typedef struct _MetaCursorTracker MetaCursorTracker;
 typedef struct _MetaDnd         MetaDnd;
 typedef struct _MetaSettings    MetaSettings;
 
+typedef struct _MetaWorkspaceManager MetaWorkspaceManager;
+
 #endif